Francois Fillon shows Gallic indifference to role

Francois Fillon appears to have talked himself out of his new job as France's prime minister, saying he believes the post should be abolished.

His remarks prompted speculation that Mr Fillon could be France's last premier, amid signs that the role is increasingly irrelevant under Nicholas Sarkozy's domineering American-style presidency. Mr Fillon's admission came as French commentators nicknamed him the "Phantom PM", saying he had been robbed of any power by the hyperactive Mr Sarkozy.

Mr Fillon, 53, frequently joins Mr Sarkozy on his early morning jog, an activity Gallic intellectuals criticised as "Right-wing" and "un-French". The prime minister said on the government's website last week that he was happy playing second fiddle and hoped for a "proper presidential regime", although he conceded that France might not be ready for such a change.

"Perhaps one day when feelings have evolved and the country has changed we could move towards a proper presidential regime and at that moment the prime minister would become a vice-president," he said.

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Traditionally the French president is seen as an arbitrator, while the prime minister governs. In Mr Sarkozy's France, however, there is room for only one leader.

Many suspect that the president, who has declared he will personally oversee all aspects of running the country and lawmaking, appointed Mr Fillon precisely because of his unassuming nature.

The premier, who describes Mr Sarkozy as "the boss", does not seem to be complaining. "When there are rivalries, when there is a kind of competition set up between the prime minister and the president of the Republic that can only lead to difficulties, to weaknesses, and finally to a certain inability to drive through the reforms that France needs," he said last week.

"My role is not to seek to differentiate myself from the president of the republic for reasons of personal ego. My role is to put into place the project the French have chosen."

As well as the "Phantom PM", Mr Fillon is collecting new nicknames in the French press, including "The Understudy", "The Shadow" and "Sarko-lite".

President Sarkozy, on the other hand, has been likened to the authoritarian Napoleon III.

In the French National Assembly last week, Socialist leader Francois Hollande questioned whether Mr Fillon had any power. "Omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient, the head of state decides everything, talks about everything, intervenes in everything and concludes everything," he told MPs.

Mr Hollande asked the prime minister: "What exactly does come down to you?"